All was quiet, except a faint sound - someone sneezing? He dragged himself to his feet, groaning as his stiff joints complained and popped, and walked in the direction the sound seemed to come from.

As he continued along the corridor, he could definitely hear voices. He came to a door, and leaned his ear against it. Yep, definitely the Scoobs. He opened the door, to see them feeling their way around, tapping at the walls with what appeared to be legs, broken off a table. How utterly peculiar, but what was really strange was the fact that every time one of them came to the doorway, they would go blank-eyed, shuffle their way to the other side, and then resume their strange behaviour.

Emram stared around, trying to find where the door had gone! Suddenly, the standard issue Colonial Marine Corps motion sensor beeped - a signal, very close, and a big one! He unslung his pulse rifle, and looked around. He was staring straight at the corner that the signal was coming from, but there was nothing there!

Let's try the infra-red... he thought, and flipped the lens down over his eye.

Sunny laughed as she listened to Ragnar trying to convince Enram to loose the motion alarm. Then the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Sunny turned to look in the corner that held Rag and Enram's attention.

There's something there, I know it. Why can't we see it?

Maybe because it doesn't want you to see it. Marguerite Muse commented.

Hail Princess of the Obvious. Sunny replied sarcastically to her muse. You know perfectly well that I meant why doesn't it want to be seen.

When goosebumps on her arms started appearing, Sunny disappeared. Seems that whatever didn't want to be seen was something that Sunny didn't want to see and once again, ported herself out of the room.

Brilliant! Way to leave your pals behind. Marguerite snapped

Not helping. Sunny thought. "Where the frell am I now?" she wondered while moving towards the light she saw....

Freaky Commentatertype voice- Just where did Sunny port herself? Why doesn't the rather large, creepy, evil spider not want to be seen? Was she so inept at fighting that she could only toy with her victims while invisible? Would anyone realize that Sunny was gone, again? Will Sun be able to port herself back to her friends, better yet, will she want to?

Tune in next time when...

I like corny. I'm looking for corny in my life.- Iris - The HolidayA day without chocolate is like a day without sunshine. - Kyra SedgwickI'm the only one with my permission to waste my time. - DNash

"Well, we all have heat signatures too." Ragnar said. "Please turn it off. That alarm is giving me a headache."

Emram switched off the alarm but he continued to look at the sensor display. He counted all the heat signatures and matched them with Scoobs he could see in the room. But there was at least one extra blip he could see on his screen. And that blip was moving toward him at a rather fast pace. When that blip covered his on the display screen he looked around, puzzled and alarmed. He didn't think to look up until something solid and about the size of a German Shepherd, with coarse hair and lots of legs, landed squarely on his back.

KaraS

For we are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of the dreams - Willy Wonka

Everyone kept addressing the pedistal lamp like it was Emram, Ragnar even got quite a conversation going. Somewhere in the back of his mind he needed to get to peas to rattling. Really! This was embarassing!

The spider had a pretty good bit of control on everyones thoughts, even if it missed Sun's disappearance (stay tuned) but the one thing it couldn't do was cover up that the flash of pulsed light and the neat little hole drilled in Ragnar's trouser leg, rather high up I might add, as Emran sent a wild shot over his shoulder in self defense!

"Aaaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" the viking bellowed, falling to the floor and clutching at his leg. The Scoobs all began to panic, rattled by the viking's cry of pain.

********************************8

The spider began to concentrate, frantically trying to keep control over the preys' minds. But their thoughts were now rapidly swirling, swapping between panic and fear. The viking's mind was part anger, part pain, part shock, but he would soon regain control. The arachnid froze, concentrating as much as possible. Until something was pressed very firmly in her face.

******************************

"OK," Emram said, his pulse rifle aimed at the spider's upper left eye, "where are we, how long have the others been here, and -" He broke off and looked around. "And where the hell did Sunny go? She was here a moment ago, wasn't she?"

The spider looked at Emram from the corners of her eyes, trying to look as timid and unthreatening as possible. She began to back into a corner, very slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements - quite difficult, when you're a spider!

And passed right thru him....or maybe its was Emram who passed right thru the spider judging by that slimey sensation that crawled over his skin.

Of course he instinctively fired.

Most everyone was basically already ducking down near Ragnar. who was in the process of discovering a neat little hole in his pants but little more than some burn damage to his leg, when the weapons fire sprayed an area of the room.

Someone yelled "Emram!" about the same time Kara and Sandworm piled on him from the sides, driving him to the floor, and attempting to take his gun. It was like he had gone loopy or something. First he shot Ragnar then he tried to shot somoeone else! It wasn't like there was anything else in the room!

A well placed jab from Kara had things well in control.

The spider slipped out the door.

***********************************************

*Frell, Sunny murmered to herself in apparently proper Peacekeeper ediquite, as she banged her shin for what like the seventeenth time.

The closer she got to the light the further she seemed to be away. Had to be a trick of the light...or maybe it was moving away from her?